Gary Shurtleff
Gary died peacefully at home July 16th, 2012. He was born March 29, 1937 to George and Bette Shurtleff.
Most of his early years were spent in Payette, Idaho where he spent time with his grandparents, cousins Pat and Barb, and brothers George, Geoff, and Raymond. During his childhood he was an avid baseball player and fan, animal lover (raising pigeons and his collie, Laddie), a voracious reader and music aficionado.
Gary attended the College of Idaho in Caldwell where he started a music collection that would eventually number in the thousands and ran a jazz radio show. It was there that he met Marlea Roehr, whom he married after he graduated with a degree in Physics in 1961.
Gary continued to play baseball (semi-pro) and eventually transitioned into coaching. He coached Legion baseball in both Burien and Renton. In 1972 his team in Burien took 2nd place in the state.
Gary was hired
as one of the early scientific computer programmers for The Boeing Company where he worked for 38 years. Gary retired in 2003, to enjoy reading his extensive library of books on history, biography, philosophy and religion; to listen to his extensive music collection; to play with his model trains; to putter in his garden, and always, to spend time with friends and family, sharing stories. He was widely considered as the ultimate authority on a number of topics and encouraged all who knew him to love the things he loved.
Gary is survived by his wife, Marley, his daughters Jennie (Peter) Struijk, Gena Shurtleff (Richard Wurdack), brothers Geoff Shurtleff, George (Linda) Shurtleff, cousins Pat Horyna, Barb (Hugh) Diener and many well-loved nieces and nephews, extended family, and friends.
Remembrances can be made to The Seattle Repertory Jazz Orchestra (http://srjo.org/), The Oregon-California Trails Association (http://www.octa-trails.org/), or Woodland Park Zoo (http://www.zoo.org/).